crown and anchor | dice game | Britannica.com Crown and anchor craps Crown and anchor, dice gambling game of English origin, dating back to the early 18th century and popular among British sailors and to some extent among Australian and American servicemen. Three six-sided dice—each having the symbols crown, anchor, spade, heart, diamond, and club—are used along with a layout (a board or a cloth) containing those symbols. The players place their bets on the layout symbols, after which the banker throws the dice from a cup. The payoffs are usually 1 to 1 on singles, 2 to 1 on pairs, and 3 to 1 on triples; for example, if a player bets on the crown and two crowns are rolled, the player receives two dollars for each dollar bet. The game is closely related to chuck-a-luck and has the same house edge (mathematical advantage) of 7.5 percent. Learn More in these related articles: chuck-a-luck dice game of medieval origin that is related to grand hazard. It is played with three dice and a layout numbered from one to six upon which the players place their bets.

The banker then rolls the dice by turning over an hourglass-shaped wire cage in which they are contained. The payoffs are usually... Corrections? Updates? Help us improve this article! Contact our editors with your feedback. MEDIA FOR: You have successfully emailed this. Error when sending the email. Try again later. Edit Mode Submit Tips For Editing We welcome suggested improvements to any of our articles. You can make it easier for us to review and, hopefully, publish your contribution by keeping a few points in mind. Encyclopædia Britannica articles are written in a neutral objective tone for a general audience. You may find it helpful to search within the site to see how similar or related subjects are covered. Any text you add should be original, not copied from other sources. At the bottom of the article, feel free to list any sources that support your changes, so that we can fully understand their context. (Internet URLs are the best.) Your contribution may be further edited by our staff, and its publication is subject to our final approval. Unfortunately, our editorial approach may not be able to accommodate all contributions. Submit Thank You for Your Contribution!

Our editors will review what you've submitted, and if it meets our criteria, we'll add it to the article. Please note that our editors may make some formatting changes or correct spelling or grammatical errors, and may also contact you if any clarifications are needed. Uh Oh There was a problem with your submission. Please try again later. Close Article Title: crown and anchor Website Name: Encyclopædia Britannica Date Published: August 25, 2006 URL: Access Date: January 15, 2017 Share Royal Navy Games Uckers tonbola You are at - Home : Games Go Direct to - Relaxation and Time off Watch This website was established to consider the songs and ditties, short one liners and 'calls' that a Royal Naval man pursued in the course of his work and in his relaxation, in their widest sense. It is in this later aspect that our attention is now diverted to the use, games contribute to a sailors general morale.

A matelots time off-watch, was in most respects his own, generally to be used, in the necessity to sleep and fuel his body, whilst always being sufficiently alert to the need to alter sail, go to action stations or deal with emergency. In the days of sail and for many decades afterwards the whole ship would be woken at 0430 (0630 in 20th century), to clean ship and thereafter go to breakfast. Often in good weather, the afternoon watch routine, could be eased, so that one part of the watch, might be allowed to 'make and mend', clothing, in a good light and such periods or opportunity to relax, allowed the enjoyment of games. Many of which were often quite boisterous. - But all of which must essentially occupy a relatively short period of time. - A game of uckers could be successfully played an a lunch break, but it was a better pursuit for th second dog or evening watch.. A game of 'Noms' in a stand-easy might be easily stretched to a short lunch. etc.

The Dog watches between 1600 - 1800 and 1800 - 2000 were a time when the whole ship was awake, and on their feet. In other words the mess decks would be alive with noise and bustle, which meant that no hammocks could be slung. It was also the time when the crew took their main meal of the day and traditionally - (weather work, battle and situation allowing) - Both the Afternoon and Dog watches allowed the men to congregate together socially, to sing, dance and tell yarns or stories, and play quite games of dice or cards, make models, or be creative with clothing, scrimshaw etc. However in reality anytime where a few moments could be gleaned was a good opportunity to play a game, and in todays navy Stand Easy must rate a favorite time for such activities. Given the opportunity, the men, could be expected to play most any game that existed, selected from the most energetic and active, field sport.

Which given the space could be anything from deck hockey, using home made pucks from a coil of old rope etc, (due to the tendency to launch then over the side, to a form of net-ball or as often called volley ball. Running and weight training are also frequently seen in todays service, but in olden days of sail, the sail drill alone was sufficient to keep them fit and where exuberance held sway, ib the available space, equipment and opportunity then games like 'swing the monkey were popular. Although most any game could be utilised, in practice, there were relatively few that were fashionable or popularly played. It is these which are of concern to us here. Including the historical evidence of such play. Social Conditions In considering the needs for entertainment, then essentially, the sailors during the days of sail were no different to the young men of today. They enjoyed the same pleasures, except of course there was no radio, except as channeled through the tannoy system from WW2 onwards. Television was always restricted to big ships and then only from the mid 1980's onwards.

Whilst recorded media made little appearance until the late 1980's, when personal tape players were small enough to be brought aboard. During World War 2, wardrooms on ships, might have a gramophone but even then they were scarce enough to be discounted. In the 1970's some messes bought themselves eight track or other types of cassette tape players etc. but usually because of power restrictions and voltage differences, they were unusual and there was only ever a handful of tapes to play on them. Thus the age old need to entertain yourself continued aboard ships right into recent memory. In the days of sail a sailors environment was primitive, the ship moved, sometimes quite violently, pitched, rolled and leaned. Modern RN men can vouch for this quite vividly and sea service in WW2 corvettes was more to be endured than enjoyed where the men slept in hammocks which by swinging from side to side, gave some respite, but not against violent pitching or corkscrewing of the vessel. Those few who had bunks would have to strap themselves in and put up side boards to stop themselves rolling around or out.

Remember also that in the sailing ship era there was no heat below decks, and the only fire aboard was that of the galley, which was never lit in rough seas for fear of setting fire to the ship. Mess decks, generally situated on the gun decks, would because of the roll of the ship, have the gun ports closed, and with so many men lying there, they would soon generate an unhealthy 'fug' which was smelly and damp to the extreme, it did however keep, the blood circulation flowing during the many week long patrols off the French coast in gale torn winter months. Lighting below decks was primitive to the extreme, with only an occasional attended candle or glim available. But like a blind man, the experienced seaman would soon know his ship thoroughly, and it would be common to see a small group of men congregate around a glim light to play a game of cards. With no heat or warmth on the ship, apart from the 'fug', there was no way for a man to dry his clothing or keep his bedding dry.

Also when the ship went to action stations, a mans hammock would be furled up and lashed in the futtocks, as a protection against splinters, (In battle wooden splinters torn up by the cannon balls caused most deaths and injuries.) In reality there was a certain amount of hot bunking, (sharing somebody elses, newly vacated hammock). The only exterior warmth was the false one of the rum ration. No wonder when the ship reached sunnier climates, the men were keen to find a moment of relaxation to clean and air the gun deck /mess decks, before the heat pounding down on the wooden decks, turned them into mouldy foul smelling ovens. Canvas shrouds would then be rigged to channel cooler air down the companion way. In a sense of uplifted spirits, it was then, that the song sessions in the forebits would be popular and the men dance to the tunes of the fiddle. In other moments they would find time for the games, recorded here, and attend to the maintenance and making of their clothing. Thus games served not only as entertainment and as a point of diversion, but also as a means to channel the ever competitive nature of a man..

Games On Ship Any game played ashore, particularly those traditionally found in public houses, will be played on board ship, and in his travels a sailor would often adopt the local games, vide uckers and Majong often adapting them to his needs. However he also had to be pragmatic, and though dart boards were carried aboard ship, we had one on HMS Ark Royal in the PO'S mess in 1976. You really couldn't play them except in port, when most of the men would be on leave or disembarked. Simply there was not sufficient room to consistently get a clear shot at the board. Similarly even bar skittles would not stand up long enough to be knocked over because of the vibration of engines or the movements of the ship. Thus it is informative to look at the known evidence to illustrate which games were popular :- The Tudor Navy From the diaries of Samuel Pepys and other persons such as Henry Teonge a Royal Naval Chaplain, who left us a good account of life aboard ship.

We can discern the recreational pursuits of the gentry class but seldom do we get an insight into the social lives of the common folk and particularly the sailor The excavation and preservation of the Mary Rose at Portsmouth dockyard has helped a little to fill that gap, for amongst the thousands of artifacts uncovered was some board games. These included a set of backgammon found in the Carpenters cabin, and a barrel top on which was drawn or etched two game boards including that for Nine Mans Morris , In addition there were many chests and leather pouches containing dice. Unfortunately only few scraps of paper or linen were still extant and so we can say with authority that playing cards were present, but we know from the diaries and similar accounts that such games were played on ship. Sailing Navy - Napoleonic Wars. We are a little more fortunate here in determining what was played as several accounts abound, and what is noted here will reflect both backwards to tudor days and forwards to the modern service, for as I say the character of these men were similar to the matelot of today.

Robert Hay writing on p.72 of his autobiographical account of his service aboard HMS Culloden in 1804 [1] notes that his mentor Jack Gillies had learned to play the German Flute … moreover could play at all-fours, at whist, at loo, at cribbage and at least a dozen other games on the cards. He could play at fox and goose, at chequers, at backgammon and I know not what besides.’ Thus we see card games such as Whist, All Fours and Crib mentioned, presumably these being the most common of the dozen or so types of card games played on that ship, whilst Fox & Goose, Chequers (Draughts) and Backgammon gets a mention. We can see here that these involved dice and counters so again Nine Mans Morris can be expected to feature as would certainly Crown & Anchor . and again the evidence of shipwreck archeology is illuminating. Of particular interest to the Navy is the game of Sling The Monkey Steam Navy Little changed in a sailors situation, with the advent of the iron ship.

Yes there was an improvement in messing, warmth was now available as steam ships are hot, but correspondingly no cooling in tropic climes. Much improvement with hot food from the galley and lighting of ships steadily got better as the years made dramatic improvements with the use of electricity. (Remember ashore street lighting was by gaslight and it was not till the closure of the Victorian era that electric lighting was commonly installed in new build ships.) Freshwater could to some extent be made aboard from the evaporators, but for a long time to come was piped or brought in from ashore. The big task aboard ship now was to coal ship, and this was channeled into a sports type activity, competitively scores were kept, so that each department might beat the previous time, and the weight of coal moved at a point in time. Coaling rigs (clothing) would seldom be washed as you could not get them dry between, one coaling run to the next. With the introduction of oil power so conditions for the sailor improved dramatically, but at sea you were still watch on watch off working four hours about, so the situation in terms of relaxation remained the same.

Games WW1 to WW2 The traditional and same forms of entertainment were now in force, though mess decks tended to be more insular than in the sailing ships. Sport was now given high priority, and there were activities for the individual to do both at sea and in port. Again snatched moments, such as at stand easy would see groups of men sharing a card game whilst a training round of a game uckers , would now be very common. In the dog watches a more intense games session might be embarked upon. Accounts of card games aboard ship generally mention Euchre and crib. Games 1970 - Current Day Now I speak from personal experience as opposed from autobiographical accounts. For entertainment in the off watch, usually in the evenings, we can note ‘Jack’ turning to games or perhaps handiwork, such as model making, marquetry, scrimshaw or needle craft,( I have known several persons do this during my years of service and particularly in the 1970's.) All to while away the odd moment. In considering games.

there were usually boxed and bought games provided by the canteen fund stored in a locker which might comprise draughts or chess and occasionally backgammon, but none of these ever saw much use except dominoes, as parts would be missing or the dice stolen. The only board game which had any real use or credibility was Uckers . As space for tables on a messdeck was very limited, there was usually only one or two small square tables. Other players would occupy themselves with cards of which seldom did I see any game being played apart from Patience, Whist, including gin, and 'Noms'; Chase the pisser, Euchre and crib. There were others that were fashionable on certain mess decks such as Snipes or Shit on your Oppo, but seldom in my time did we see anyone playing poker. Though gambling schools were known from time to time, but these usually rotated around one of the aforesaid card games. Skillful players would be treated with serious respect by all those aboard ship, particularly where Uckers was involved. It is very common to have an uckers challenge being viewed by everybody in the vicinity. Each man present adding his own suggestion as to the proper course of play.

Such cries as Knock it off and blob up , might crucially sway the run of play - The crowd would forcibly encourage their respective 'champion' to suck back and volubly, will the opponent into a mixy blob of possible appolyptic consequences. Shouts of once at em, twice at em would draw further spectators, from their remainder of the crew who had previously perhaps been occupied in the silent contemplation of their loved ones. Jeers of derision, when a particularly foolhardy move or brave gambit goes dramatically wrong, would bring smiles to even the most distant of shipmates. Such is the energy that is expended into a so called simple game. A game which inevitably serves to create that bond of comradship that prevails aboard the Royal Naval ship. As earlier in WW1, WW2 and now in the Falklands the long periods of inaction during Action Stations, where men might play cards, write letters or play memory games, sketch or quietly play games like battleships or squares. On Saturday nights there maybe a ship wide game of Tombola or a competition based on frog or horse racing.

Gambling This subject could not be complete without reference to Gambling - In the early days of sail, Gambling inevitably was part of a sailors life, but by the late Eighteenth century, it was mostly actively discouraged. Yet many gambling games were and still are today, carried out for a wager. Indeed, up until the 1970's, the universal currency, for petty wagers was the tot, as it indeed had been for most of the twentieth century and before. By the Napoleonic period the practice of gambling aboard ship had mostly been suppressed, although there was always the prospect of an illicit card game etc. being held in the darker depths of the ships bilges. Always, in 'friendly' card games, money was never seen on any surface where a game was in progress, whilst certain instruments to keep score were inevitably allowed such as the crib board and the pair of cards in Euchre, seldom would counters or other tokens be allowed let alone used in connection with cards. But this never stopped gambling for the addicted. The term 'penny a point' was frequently heard and divvied up at the conclusion. Yet those rules and indeed the fear of being reported, had the effect of driving gambling under ground.

One must remember that there were many little businesses going on aboard ships. You had to request through channels, to start such a legitimate part-time occupation; such as haircutting. Thus if a rating could earn a few shillings on the side for a run ashore, he would. Thus operators of card schools etc. would have guards posted to warn of an officers approach whenever a really big session was underway. This was particularly the case during the World Wars. Knowing that a sailor loved a wager, and seeking to control it, the Admiralty allowed certain supervised activities, that were monitored by the Master At Arms or his representatives. Such ship wide games were conducted in the open and the ship itself, always acted as banker, either in the guise of the mess fund (Senior Rates and officer) or welfare fund (Lower deck and ship generally.) [The welfare fund, acquired and spent its money, for the improvement of the sailors lives, by providing essential items to improve their lot]. Thus this was seen by the men as a 'win win' situation they benefited in terms of the big lottery pay outs for runs ashore etc and in terms of extras for the ship etc. The games so chosen were those where the 'take' percentage for the banker was low.

Evidence suggests that Crown and Anchor , may at one time have been held like this but if so it was quickly replaced from about 1880 onwards, by Tombola . With games often played on a weekly basis, (Saturday night) when the ships routine allowed. Crown and Anchor is 'the' best known Naval Gambling Game, indeed whenever it appears it is usually in connection with sailors. However it is a game where the 'Win' factor is heavily biased to the banker and although it be occasionally found as a secondary or occasional game on special ships party or banyan days, held under the watchful eye of the regulating staff it was more often found illicitly played. In conclusion we note - That irrespective of the period of interest, games are played on four occasions. During stand easy and lunch time - when a game of cribbage or other card game is the order of play or perhaps the training game of uckers. In off watch period - usually the dog watches or evenings. When more elongated tournaments might be found. Action Stations - In the periods of rest or respite whilst awaiting the call to duty or to react to a situation, today's wafoos play sketching and memory games, etc.

when waiting for a sortie to land. In such a context you are often sat in a passageway or compartment with your back against the bulkhead, games of cards, are seldom evident but squares or battleships might be used, occasionally some other sketching or mental game. Ship Organised Events like - Garden Parties -At sea, a garden party, banyan, or sports day, is an organized item, which affects the whole ship. On carriers with the flight deck or hanger to serve as a sports field more extravagant social events might be organised such as hot dog barbeques, whilst individual departments (Stokers, 'Airey Faries (WAFU's) or Cooks) might sponsor and man sideshows etc. The whole atmosphere is one of a village fete. There could be swimming, kite flying, skeet shooting etc. During such activities frog racing and horse racing might be the occupation of the day, whilst those same games might be scheduled or accommodated in a mess deck flat in the evening or perhaps during a more select Saturday night at sea.

- Small ships would similarly organise the same events with the helicopter flight deck the venue, sweepers and destroyers might find a deserted tropic isle to hold the event. (A Banyan) Footnote Most any game in existance has been played aboard ships, particularly those with cards. (I have seen homemade version of Happy Families in regular use, ( I would often covet the cards for they were prime examples of sailors art. For such items would feature the families of many characters aboard ship in comical and bawdy pose.) However there are certain games that are more traditionally assosiated with the naval sailor such as Noms, Chase the Pisser, Crown and Anchor, Uckers and Tombola. The Most Popular Games All Fours Gambling and Lottery Games Any game played can be the object of a wager, and Queens (Kings) Regulations and Admiralty Instructions, consider this by forbidding, the presence of money or tokens on a messdeck table where games are played. Only the official lotteries such as Tombola are allowed in messes or canteen flats, after making the proper application or request to the Commanding Officer.

The one exception to this is where a crib board or score sheet is required to keep score but such must comply to the standard expected in such games. Of course all will be familiar with 'penny a point' in crib and dominoes. This section only illustrates therefore those games where money either legally or illegally changes hands. Crown & Anchor Threes Crown and Anchor Crown and anchor is a traditional dice game from my neck of the woods; England, which was and still is played by the sailors in the British Navy. It was used to pass the time on the ships and submarines, because being in tight quarters with a whole bunch of men (and women) with nothing to do was very boring. It’s usually a Mans gambling game the most though. So to wile away the hours while waiting for the orders to go off somewhere they would play dice games, as it was easy to put in your pocket. Today it is still being played in the channel islands—Jersey the most but Guernsey as well as Bermuda. There are older men sit in the square in Jersey and they play the dice game for fun and to make a few dollars.

The game consists of three special dice, which are of equal size and shape but instead of the numbers on the dice, there is symbols resembling a crown, an anchor, a diamond, a spade, a club, and a heart. As you probably noticed the last four are the same as on a regular deck of playing cards. Using a canvas or felt mat, a player wagers on one or more symbols, he then throws the three dice and is then paid by the bank accordingly. An even money payout is paid if one of his bets comes up, like 2:1 if two, and 3:1 if three. During the game of crown and anchor a player can expect to lose at least 7.9% each turn he plays. Bau Cua Ca Cop - Android Apps on Google Play Bau Cua Ca Cop ( 103) Description The game "bầu cua cá cọp" (bầu cua cá cọp "squash-crab-fish-tiger") is a Vietnamese gambling game using three dice.

The six sides of the dice, instead of showing one to six pips, have pictures of a fish, a prawn, a crab, a rooster, a calabash gourd, and a stag. Players place wagers on a board that has the six pictures, betting on which pictures will appear. If one die corresponds with a bet, the better receives the same amount as their bet. If two dice correspond with a bet, the better receives two times their money. If three dice correspond with a bet, the better receives three times their money. For instance, if one were to place $3 on fish, and the dealer rolls 2 fish and one stag, then the bettor would receive $6. "bầu cua cá cọp" is similar to Bau Cua Ca, Bau Tom Cua or Bau Cua in Vietnam, Hoo Hey How (Fish-Prawn-Crab) in China, the dice game Crown and Anchor played by British sailors, or chuck-a-luck played in America.

Bau cua tom ca is often played at Tết (Vietnamese New Year) Fish Prawn Crab - Android Apps on Google Play Fish Prawn Crab ( 252) Description The game bầu cua cá cọp (bầu cua cá cọp "squash-crab-fish-tiger") is a Vietnamese gambling game using three dice. The six sides of the die, instead of showing one to six pips, have pictures of a fish, a prawn, a crab, a rooster, a calabash gourd, and a stag. Players place wagers on a board that has the six pictures, betting on which pictures will appear. If one die corresponds with a bet, the better receives the same amount as their bet. If two dice correspond with a bet, the better receives two times their money. If three dice correspond with a bet, the better receives three times their money. For instance, if one were to place 3 on fish, and the dealer rolls 2 fish and one stag, then the bettor would receive 6.

Bau cua tom ca is similar to Hoo Hey How (Fish-Prawn-Crab) in China, the dice game Crown and Anchor played by British sailors, or chuck-a-luck played in America. Bau cua tom ca is often played at Tết (Vietnamese New Year). Read more Crown and Anchor : definition of Crown and Anchor and synonyms of Crown and Anchor (English) Crown and Anchor stall at Battle of Flowers funfair in Jersey Crown and Anchor is a simple dice game, traditionally played for gambling purposes by sailors in the British Royal Navy , and also in the British merchant and fishing fleets. The game originated in the 18th century. It is still popular in the Channel Islands and Bermuda , but is strictly controlled and may be played legally only on certain occasions, such as the Channel Islands' three annual agricultural shows, or Bermuda's annual Cup Match cricket game. Three special dice are used in Crown and Anchor. The dice are equal in size and shape to standard dice, but instead of one through six pips, they are marked with six symbols: crown, anchor, diamond, spade, club and heart.

(The last four are the same symbols used on playing cards .) Rules of play Crown and Anchor playing mat The game is played between a player and a banker. A canvas or felt mat marked with the six symbols is used for play. The player places bets on one or more symbols. He then throws the three dice. If there is a bet on any symbol which comes up on one or more of the dice, the banker pays the player the amount of his stake for each die showing that symbol: even money if one, 2:1 if two, and 3:1 if three. If the symbol doesn't come up, the player loses his bet. On average, the player will lose 92.1% of the amount he bets; that is, over time he will win 7.9% of whatever he bets. Thus, the banker has a substantial edge. In a game at a festival or casino, the house will be banker. In a game among friends, each person serves as banker in turn. Variations The rules of Crown and Anchor are the same as those of the American game chuck-a-luck .

There is a similar Flemish version called Anker en Zon ("Anchor and Sun"), in which a sun symbol replaces the crown. The French version again uses the sun, and is called Ancre, Pique, et Soleil ("Anchor, Spade, and Sun"). A similar game played in China and Vietnam is called Hoo Hey How or Bau cua ca cop . References Dice by Eric C. Harshbarger I make dice... I've decided to make a whole subsection of my website dedicated to various dice that I make. Most of these things are rather whimsical, and a person probably has to struggle to invent a real use for them. But some people, like myself, just like dice, and it's rather fun to have some that most other people don't have. If you see any that you like, most can be bought from me . I occasionally make custom dice for people too, but you should read this webapge before you send me any emails about custom requests . Currently I am engraving 4-, 6-, and 20-sided dice. Initially all of my 6-sided dice were 5/8" (16mm), but I have also begun engraving 6-sided dice that are 1".

Pretty much any of the 6-sided dice that you see below may be created at this "jumbo" size ( though they are more expensive ). These larger dice are only available in red, blue, and green colors. Here is a comparison of sizes -- using my Trigonometry Dice -- 5/8" vs. 1"... plus a quarter coin shown for scale . I engrave new designs whenever I think of something (halfway) clever, so please bookmark the webpage and check back often. Oh, I also engrave geeky pencils . Go First Dice 4-Sided Dice 4-sided dice are always a bit awkward to roll and read results from. My preference for most d4 designs is to put the result at the upper point of the die rather than along the lower edge. See the Card Suits Die as an example. Card Suits Die Pretty straightforward, four suits, four sides. Inked with both red and black. Here you'll note the design style I like to use for 4-sided dice. The result (in this picture a Spade) is the icon which dominates the upper point of the tetrahedron.

The alternate style is to put the result along the lower edge (closest to the table), but I find the former usually affords more room for artwork. Compass Die I do not recommend using this die to try to find your way out of the wilderness, but if you are leader of an adventuring party and just can't decide which door to take out of the perfectly rectangular cavern, this may be just the die for you. Elemental Die Another colorful 4-sided. This one is an "elemental die" showing icons for the four basic elements: Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. There are, traditionally, alchemic symbols for these elements , but they are all based on equilateral triangles and can be a little difficult to keep straight. I decided to just use some custom shapes for the elements and color them appropriately. FIRE: Red flame icon Unless otherwise noted, the 6-sided dice are 5/8" (16mm) cubes. 1s and 2s Somebody wanted a "two-sided die" that was simply a six-sided with three 1s and three 2s. So I made him some. And, of course, I made extra.

2 Pip This is probably the most unusual die that I've designed. Standard six-sided casino dice have their 21 pips (dots) arranged in particular ways. Imagine you have a " Bicycle " die that you've used so many times that the pips have started to wear off. What is the greatest number of dots that can be removed from a die and it still be determinable what is rolled? Turns out you can go all the way down to two pips. The spartan design is pictured at right. Here is how you can deduce what is rolled: If the 'center-side' pip is face up, then a "6" was rolled, because that is the only number with a dot in that position. If the center-side pip is not visible anywhere on the die, then it must be face-down. Meaning you rolled a "1". Otherwise, the center-side is on one of the four side faces. In this case, look for the 'center-center' pip (which, given its position relative to the center-side pip, must be the "5" face). If that center-center dot is face-up, you've rolled a "5". If it is not visible, you've rolled a "2".

If it is also on one of the side faces, then you need to know that the 4-5-6 values are placed counterclockwise about their shared vertex (on Bicycle Dice); with that knowledge you can determine whether a "3" or "4" is face up. The above makes a couple of assumptions. First, it assumes you know that this is a 2-pip die (with its particular pip arrangement), and second that you can move yourself to see all non-face-down sides of the dice once rolled. Also note that the center-center "5" pip could be moved to two of the corners and still work (but not the other two corners). Got all that? Alignment Dice Another set of dice that harkens back to my childhood Dungeons & Dragons playing. A pair of dice that may be used to randomly determine the "alignment" of a character. The green die is labeled with LAWFUL, NEUTRAL, and GOOD, while the blue die reads GOOD, NEUTRAL, and EVIL. Rolling both gives equal chances for each of the nine possible alignment combinations.

Archaic Number Words Dice Most people are familiar with the words "ace" and "deuce" from a deck of cards, but what many do not realize is that those terms were actually first applied to the number of pips on the face of dice. Furthermore, beyond "ace" and "deuce", the numbers 3, 4, 5, and 6 also have words associated with them: "trey" (which some still use in card-playing), and the rarer "cater", "cinque", and "sice". "Ace" was derived from the Latin word for "unit" while the other five terms are distortions of the French words of the same numbers. More information may be found at the Wikipedia page about dice . Anyway, I decided the archaic terms would look nice on dice... Book Genre Dice A customer was inspired by my Coffee Dice and asked me to create a die with different book genres on each face (the die is for a librarian she knows). The faces were adorned with the following words and icons: Adventure (globe), Mystery (question mark), Fantasy (sword), Science Fiction (alien head), Romance (heart), Biography (open book).

Brick Dice I'm betting there's a fairly large overlap between LEGO-geeks and game-playing-geeks. For that audience I present these "brick dice". Instead of digits 1-6 on the faces, I have building block representations with one to six "studs" showing. The "5" side was tricky since there is not a standard 1x5 brick, so I depicted a 1x2 plate with a 3-stud L-brick next to it (the other digits are represented by a 1x1, 1x2, 1x3, 2x2, and 2x3 brick). These come in a set of 5 colored dice as shown. Note that these are in no way "official" products of the LEGO company (or any other construction toy company), these are products of me, Eric Harshbarger. Cheater-6 Dice This die might look like a standard six-sided with pips, but that is somewhat the point. Instead of a "1" on the face opposite the visible "6" in the picture, there's another "6". In other words, it's a die with two 6s (on opposite faces).

I'm not responsible for players getting knifed or shot because they are using a "Cheater's Die" in some game of craps or Axis and Allies. Chess Dice Six different chess pieces, six sides on a die. This one was a no-brainer. I'm not sure how often people think to themselves, "gee, I wish this game of chess had more chance in it." But if someone does think that, I have the dice for them. After a specific request, I also engraved a couple of d8 with numbers (1-8) and letters (a-h) on them so that the buyer could, evidently, randomize the positions of the pieces on the board as well (using standard algebraic notation of the chessboard). Coffee Shop Dice This is a pair of dice I made for a local coffeeshop/bakery where I hang out way to often (often bringing puzzles for other patrons to play-test). Too often I'd hear the barista ask a customer, "what would you like?" and the response was, "ooohh... I don't know..." As a joke these dice are meant to answer their indecision.

The white die has different drink types (Coffee, Tea, Chai, Latte, Bottled, and Frozen) while the yellow die has various dessert choices (Cake, Cookie, Cinnamon Roll, Muffin, Pie, and Cupcake). I don't know how often people follow the results of the rolls, but they do get a kick out of rolling them. Crown And Anchor Dice One fun consequence of making all of these dice is that I learn about dice games which had previously been unknown to me. Case in point: " Crown And Anchor ", a betting game that is traditionally played by sailors in the British Royal Navy. There is a "betting board" or mat that is usually used in play as well, but I am just interested in the dice. They are six-sided, but instead of numbers there are three red faces (Heart, Diamond, Crown) and three black faces (Spade, Club, and Anchor). A game of Crown And Anchor requires a set of three dice to play, so that is what I have pictured here. d9 Pair One of my dice customers asked me if I had an opinion on the best way to create a "nine-sided" die.

His suggestion was to number an eighteen-sided "dihedral" or "bi-conic" die with 1-9 twice. While that would work, getting such 18-faceted dice is not particularly easy. I settled upon the following scheme: a pair of six-sided dice. The first is numbered 1,2,3 twice and the second is numbered 0,3,6 twice. When the pair is rolled and the face-up values summed, the result will be 1-9 (with equal chances of each result). I have no idea why anyone would need a nine-sided die, but such a pair would do the trick. To the right are four such pair (in four different colors). Decision Dice These dice were originally designed for a friend of mine who requested a die to help her make decisions. I made two version, each with different responses, some negative so affirmative. Therefore, you can roll both (to get two differing opinions). For a more quantified answer I also included a number of plus or minus signs under the expressions (to indicate the relative severity of the response). So, you can roll both dice and see if the combined result is over all more positive or negative.

Of course, I would not advise using these to dictate important decisions in your life; they are for entertainment purposes only. Emoticon Dice I have no idea how this could be useful, but I just liked the idea of covering the six square sides of a die with perfectly round emoticons. The interior of the die is made of white resin which did not contrast very well with the bright yellow surface after engraving, so I inked the etched faces by hand with a fine-point black Sharpie marker. Maybe if you are confused as to how you should react to some particular bit of news, you could roll this die and let Lady Luck decide for you. Here are the moods you might roll . Evens/Odds Dice I'm not sure what the purpose of these dice are, but somebody requested one, so I now have the design on file and can make more. The die has the word "Evens" on three of the sides, and "Odds" on the other three. G4G9 Dice These custom dice will be my "exchange gift" at the upcoming "Gathering 4 Gardner 9" (a congregation of puzzlers, mathematicians, magicians, and other people in honor of the writer Martin Gardner).

As this gathering is often abbreviated "G4G9", I decided to make dice that have the numbers 1-6 represented by math expressions that use exactly four 9s on each side... Hash Marks There are all types of ways to indicate numbers, and "hash marks" is one of the oldest ways; I'm surprised it took me so long to think of using them on dice. The standard numbers 1 through6 are present, but rather than pips, dots, or digits, simple hash marks are used. The picture to the right is also the first time that I'm showing off my latest available die color: brown! MATHd6 I grew up playing tabletop role-playing games, including 1st edition AD&D (I still have all of my old modules and DRAGON magazines). I don't play anymore, but if I ever needed to roll up stats for a new character, I have created the ultimate geek-dice for just such a task: math-dice. Instead of dice with numbers one though six on them, I've designed three six-sided dice (blue, green, and red) with various mathematical expressions on them which equal the numbers 1-6.

These are not your friendly, school-supply-store-dice to teach adding and subtracting. Screw that. If you want to know what number you've rolled, you better be fluent in calculus, matrix theory, probability, trigonometry, and modulo arithmetic. If you're lucky a die might land face up with "1+4" on it, or maybe just a square or cubic root. To the right is a picture of the dice, and here is a PDF file showing the expressions used on all of the faces . And yes, opposite faces add up to the fifth root of 16807. So, if your Dungeon Master can't calculate an infinite series or trigonometric functions, I guess he'll just have to take your word on how high that Agility Score really is. Math Constants Dice Math geekiness and dice just seem to go well together. This die gathers up a mathematician's favorite constants (yes, there are favorites), and puts them all on one six-sided. Euler would be proud. You'll find (0, 1, Pi, Phi, i, and e). Number Words Dice A magician from the United Kingdom asked me to make these dice for him. Really.

And if there's one thing I've learned after years of making dice: you don't ever quarrel with a magician from the UK. These dice simply have the words "ONE", "TWO", "THREE", "FOUR", "FIVE", and "SIX" on the faces. NYC Cuisine Dice A resident of New York City evidently needed some help at deciding what she would be eating for supper every night. Thus she requested these dice from me. They are blue, jumbo-sized (1") and have the following text on the faces: Die 1: West Village, Chelsea, EV/Nolita, LES, Soho, Roller's Choice Die 2: Italian, Roller's Choice, Sushi, Mexican, Asian, Ethnic Puzzle and game designer Oskar van Deventer asked me to create this set of seven dice that exhibit the property of "nontransitivity". A full explanation of the mathematical properties of this set may be found at this Wikipedia Page , and a video of Oskar explaining the dice is also available. The dice were designed according to Oskar's request: seven different colors, and with Comic Sans font.

In addition to supplying him with his sets, he agreed that I should make them available to others as well. A complete set of these seven dice is $17.00. Periodic Table Dice Here's a set of 20d6 I designed around the Period Table of Elements. I included elements from Hydrogen to Ununoctium. I tried to assign many similar elements to the same die (e.g. all the Noble Gases are on a single die), but I had to be somewhat lax as they don't break down into nice groups of six. I just randomly used red, blue, and green cubes for the dice colors in this picture. Each face (at 500 dpi engraving) lists the element Name, Atomic Number, Symbol, and Atomic Weight. There are 118 elements (with the latest, Flerovium and Livermorium included!), so I put my name and an "atom" icon on the two extra faces. Pets Dice The perfect gift for the friend who always seems to be acquiring more animal companions. In case they are ever at a loss for what type of pet they should get next, this die will come in handy.

The jumbo (1") sized cube is engraved with six different silhouettes: Cat, Dog, Bird, Mouse/Rodent, Fish, and Snake/Reptile. I'm afraid there was not room for Bunnies, Ferrets, Hedgehogs, or Spiders... Polyhedra Die You probably thought I meant "polyhedral die", didn't you? No, this is a polyhedra die: a die with polyhedra on its faces; namely, the six most common polyhedral solids used as dice in games. Got that? In other words, its a six-sided die whose faces depict 4-, 6-, 8-, 10-, 12-, and 20-sided shapes. Powers Of Ten Math-themed dice are some of my most popular designs, and so I'm always pleased to cook up a new type. Here is a pair of dice that exhibits "powers of ten" (orders of magnitude).

The blue die has 10 raised to the powers: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5; and includes the number words: "One", "Ten", "Hundred", "Thousand", "Ten Thousand", and "Hundred Thousand". The green die uses exponents of ten: 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, and 21; and names the numbers according to Short Scale nomenclature : "Million", "Billion", "Trillion", Quadrillion", "Qunitillion", and "Sextillion". Punctuation Marks Maybe if you are not quite sure what to say, how to say it, or for exactly how long you should ramble on? Six punctuation marks adorn the faces: the period (.), the comma (,), the question mark (?), the exclamation point (!), the colon (:), and everyone's favorite: the semicolon (;). Quirky Dice I got really bored one day in late 2016 and decided to design these 6-sided dice. There's no real theme here other that a mixture of letters and digits arranged in such a way that is interesting yet readable.

For lack of a better name, I'm simply calling these Quirky Dice. Six Senses Die Here's another design that is kind of begging to have someone make a clever board/party game around it: a "senses" die. Of course, there are traditionally only five senses of the human body (Sight, Hearing, Touch, Taste, and Smell), but that would have left one side blank. So, I included a brain for a sixth "ESP" sense. Each sense is represented by an appropriate icon (Eye, Ear, Hand, Mouth/Tongue, Nose, and Brain). Stats Dice Another throwback to my days of 1st edition Dungeons and Dragons role-playing. Here is a simple die that lists the six basic statistics of a player character: STRENGTH, INTELLIGENCE, DEXTERITY, WISDOM, CONSTITUTION, and CHARISMA. I'm not sure why you would need this die, but it's good to know it's there. Symmetric Pips Here's a design that I'd been considering for a long time but never got around to making until a client specifically requested it.

These are dice numbered 1 through 6 using pips, but the pips are configured symmetrically about the center of each face rather than in the traditional designs. The picture to the right shows each face design as well as the six different colors of six-sided design I make for people: white, ivory, yellow, red, blue, and green. Trigonometry Dice More math-related dice! I can't believe I didn't think of this set earlier. There are six major Trigonometric Functions, so why not put each on the face of a die. And while I'm at it, I'll create another die with major increments of degrees (0°, 30°, 45°, 60°, 90°, and 180°), and finally, a die with equivalent angles in radians measure. After rolling these things a few hundred times there's no way you won't know the Law of Sines, Law of Cosines, and who knows what else... Wonderland Dice I have brought back my "Alice In Wonderland" dice! These have proven very popular in the past.

Previously they were made on jumbo (1") white, plastic dice, but when my supply of such blanks ran dry, I stopped making them. I got so many requests, that I decided to start making them using 1" wooden cubes. The wooden aesthetic suits theme very well (not surprising since the original artwork was produced as wood cuts back in the late 1800s). Wooden cubes, of course, are not quite as exact as urea/plastic dice; there will be variations in the wood's grain, and the corners and edges might be a bit scuffed. The darkness of the engraving may also vary a bit depending on a particular cube's density. I have done my best, however, to select cubes that are very close to "perfect" as far as size, and that will make beautiful dice. There are four different designs (24 different images total, six per die). The set of four Wonderland dice is $10.00. Wandering Monsters Die This is probably the most specialized set of dice I've ever made, and it will appeal only to those who are as enamored with "old school" role-playing games as I am.

The original Basic Dungeons & Dragons game had tables in it for "random encounters" or "wandering monsters". If something was encountered by an adventuring party, the dungeon master was supposed to roll a twelve sided die and refer to one of three tables (depending upon what "level" of the dungeon the party was on -- the rulebook only considered dungeons of depth down to level three). So, with some jumbo-sized d12s lying around, I thought to myself, "why not hard-code those tables onto an actual set of dice?" Yes, this completely forgoes the modularity of basic dice... the concept of using a die numbered 1-12 in conjunction with any table listing 12 items. These dice are so specialized that they border on useless. But still, I think they are coooool. If you agree with me and want your own such dice, they are $20.00 per set of three (jumbo white, inked in red, green, and blue).

For those old school players who want to know exactly which edition of the "Holmes Basic Blue Book" the tables came from: I used the 3rd Edition, December 1979 -- as shown in the picture above. Here is another view of all three tables . Buying These Dice Most of the dice on this page I'm happy to sell if you think they are so cool you just have to own them. I make them "on-demand" as people request them and mail them by USPS. The cost for most of them depends on two factors: 1) the number of sides, 2) whether they are inked or not. Here are guidelines (but email me for a final total):

Question: Crown and Anchor, a gambling game traditionally played by sailors, is played using what equipment?
Answer: Dice